Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!gatech!utkcs2!duncan.cs.utk.edu!burkey From: burkey@duncan.cs.utk.edu (Michael Burkey) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: Sound cards-sound blaster, adlib, roland.. Message-ID: <1991May9.225132.17565@cs.utk.edu> Date: 9 May 91 22:51:32 GMT References: <1991May4.221340.12097@d.cs.okstate.edu> <1991May6.173335.6553@cs.cornell.edu> Sender: usenet@cs.utk.edu (USENET News Poster) Reply-To: burkey@duncan.cs.utk.edu (Michael Burkey) Distribution: comp Organization: Univ of TN, Knoxville - CS Department Lines: 40 Someone knows very little about Sound Blaster's obviously. I do not consider Electronics Boutique a reputable street price. I bought mine from Computronics for $149 back last September. I have since seen them for as low as $129. Statistics on Sblaster. -- 11 voice FM (full Adlib) -- 1 DSP digitized voice input/output channel -- DMA support -- max output 25khz (if you drive it directly) -- max input 13khz -- supports direct record to disk/play from disk (ie, I have some 47Mb sound files, Pat Benater Greatest Hits CD -- ALL of it!!) -- standard IBM style joystick port (analog) -- this card is plug and play but does need a DMA channel and IRQ address free for the digitized sound playback -- it DOES not require a patch to your config file and requires no drivers (unless you are using the crappy demos -- Parrot et al -- that come with it) -- comes with Dr. Sbaitso text to speech converter (bearable at best) optional -- Midi port connectors (non-standard) CMS stereo sound chips (ok, do stereo, but rarely supported any more) (even for $20 its not really worth it) The card HAS been known to have some problems on SOME high speed 386/486 units. To my knowledge the adlib emulation always works ok. The DMA channels sometimes tend to glitch on recording but I suspect that this is primarily software related. The only really bad problem of high speed units is the joystick port, but then again, almost all joystick ports have problems on high speed units. *** eternal curse to the engineers at IBM and APPLE who came up with analog joysticks!!!! **** M Burkey